Hoofbeats pounded the flat ground, dragging creaking wheels, throwing storm clouds into the air behind them. Loud and rhythmic, unstoppable, the thunder grew, gathering speed and power, the distant horses joined by infantry. Thousands upon thousands of feet, clad in sandals or in heavy boots, rising and falling in unison as the army approached.
The Oracle’s eyes twitched under her lids in her meditations.
The day dawned black across the open plain, the sun nowhere in sight as the soldiers crested a far-off hill, waves upon waves following each other. One half of the massive army were familiar, if changed; invaders from Rome, armored in far better metals than they ever should have had. The other half were fearsome in a different way, uniforms thickly-padded and heavily-decorated.
Penelope knew their name though she had never seen them herself: Nazis
As the horde grew in size, it grew in speed, the men trampling the earth beneath their feet, destroying all they passed. The Oracle sent her gaze around the battlefield, the heart in her chest pounding in time with the galloping hooves, looking through darkness to find hope. The smallest glow shone from the center of the plain, the blackness crowded around the form of Wonder Woman as she fought. The dark head of the Amazon Princess spun from side to side, unable to find those she needed to help, struggling to win a losing battle as the mob of soldiers circled around her, and she lashed at the darkness with all her strength, able to do nothing to hold it back.
Her eyes snapped open to take in the radiant sunlight in her garden, and Penelope wiped the sweat from her brow. Penelope pondered her dream, her vision, as she calmed her body. The Amazon Oracle was often graced with visions, of victory or horror, but all with the truth marbled through their symbols. With a deep sigh, Penelope focused her mind again, calling out to her Champion
*****
The streets full of people didn’t calm Mavis Razel’s racing heart. She had been on edge ever since her last, failed mission, but today something was telling her to be more vigilant than ever. She tried her best to mask the worry on her face; the sly, calm, unshakable Doctor Poison felt herself jumping at every sudden movement. It had been too long; she had not been contacted after she left Red Panzer alive, and Mavis knew what that meant. She was no longer a standing member of the Ryche.
And they didn’t let ex-members walk freely on the streets.
Still, she held her head high until she noticed the movement behind her. With a deep breath, she tried to relax her nerves and reached her fingers into her pocket. She hoped that whoever her assassin was, he would be underestimating Doctor Poison.
The man stepped out in front of her before Mavis could fully gather her thoughts. She took one long look at him, as he stared steadily at her, and then she nodded, and walked into an alley nearby. “Let’s get this over with.”
He followed her between the tall buildings without saying a word. As the sun passed over his bald head, it caught the dull metal marbled through his skin. The sight was chilling, though Mavis consciously kept from shivering. He was dressed in black, the symbol of the Ryche displayed as proudly as he could wear it without attracting unwelcome attention. Veins of dull silver crossed all over his skull and his exposed arms, every bit of exposed skin. Mavis had heard of men built like trees, or boulders, hunks of thick, corded muscle and little else. This man went beyond all the mental images she had ever had. His lips pulled back into a cruel grin, revealing dull, pitted metal teeth.
“I like you,” he said, advancing on Mavis, as she shook her dark hair out of her eyes. His voice was thick, low and accented. “You know what must be done. You do not fight.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Trapped between the huge man and the alley wall, Mavis kept her cool demeanor, and drew her hand out of her pocket. In one swift movement, she threw a small glass vial at the wall, holding her breath as she heard the hissing escape of gas and shatter of glass. “I’ve got plenty of fight,” She whispered with the air left in her lungs, and Doctor Poison took off like a dart…
…only to hear a dark, graveled laugh from just behind her, and feel her whole body yanked backward by a thick hand, metal glinting as the poison cloud dissipated. “Not enough, Doctor Poison,” he grabbed a shoulder in each of his cold hands. “You truly do not belong with the glory of the Ryche, if you underestimate us so.” The next moment, Mavis’ head was spinning, nauseous pain shooting through her whole form—he had shoved her hard into the brick wall, with strength far beyond a natural man’s. A single blow, and she was already slipping away.
“Mourn will be well-rewarded,” the man grinned again, and she could almost see his lips at the back of her neck. “I will serve the Ryche far better than you ever could.” With nothing more than another dark laugh, he threw her forward into the wall again, and all went dark.
*****
The knock on Julia’s door had become a welcome sound since Diana had entered her life, and she was only just beginning to feel annoyed. “Come on in,” she called, keeping her eye on the report she was trying so hard to type up.
“What do you know about Thrinacia?” Diana pushed open the door, wasting no time as she took a seat.
Julia thought for a moment. “Not much more than Google would bring up. Doesn’t Nessie have an expensive laptop for researching on?”
“She said she was very busy.” Diana kept the small laugh out of her smile; Vanessa’s heated debate with her friends had been about their favorite nose shapes on men. Helping her to keep the secret reminded Diana of being at home with her own sisters. “And I know much, but not quite enough.”
“Well, what do you need?” Julia’s fingers dashed across the keyboard, and she turned to look at Diana.
“I’ve had a message from my sisters on Themyscira,” Diana explained. “Our Oracle has had a vision, warning of great danger to come. She was able to call out to me over this distance and explain what I must do.” Diana paused, a soft smile on her lips. “She believes I need to find the Chariot of the Sun. And if anywhere, Helios’ island is a likely place to start looking.”
“Alright, I’m in.” Julia chuckled a little as she brought more websites up. “I can’t pass up anything that interesting, now can I? So let’s see, Thrinacia…Island of the Sun…visited in the Odyssey…A lot of scholars think it was meant to be Sicily, since it’s the only three-cornered island in the area.”
Diana’s brow furrowed. “Sicily? Really?”
“Well, it’s as good a place as any to start.” Julia tapped her fingers on the side of the keyboard in thought. “Although…Don’t wait for me, but I might be able to look into something.” She stood quickly, running her fingers over the books on her shelves. “If this sun chariot is as important as it seems, I think you should leave as soon as possible.”
Diana nodded. “Absolutely, it is. But I’m not sure how I could…” she trailed off, and then broke into a smile. “Actually, I do know how I might get there.”
*****
Steve Trevor smiled fondly as the cab neared the small house, his grin widening when he saw Diana ready to meet him at the front door. He paid the driver and stepped out with his pack of supplies, giving her a wave.
Diana smiled too, and walked to meet him halfway in the front yard, with a warm handshake. “It’s good to see you again, Steven. I appreciate the help.”
“No trouble, I appreciate the call,” he gave her hand a squeeze, and shifted the backpack on his shoulder. “Happy to stay as long as you need, but whenever you’re ready we can head off.”
“Off to where?” Donna Troy stepped out of the house, her confident walk bringing her to Diana’s side. “Saw the car, I wondered what was up.”
“I’ve received a message from my home, I must go. Steven is accompanying me on my journey.”
Donna quickly shook Steve’s hand with a bright flash of a smile, before she turned back to Diana. “Well, what is it? Maybe I can help.”
The three of them started back into the house while Diana answered. “I think you may be better needed here. You have done wonderfully in your training so far, and I need someone to keep an eye on Ari,” she chuckled. Olympian had been around to visit several times since Diana had met him, clearly looking to impress. His enthusiasm was his asset, and Diana had been trying to guide him to direct it at fighting crime, rather than impressing her.
“Someone mention Ari?” Vanessa’s head poked over the railing at the top of the stairs, and she broke into a grin, racing down when she saw Steve and threw herself into him with a big hug. “God, Di, you’re just covered in cute guys all the damn time!”
A sigh from the hallway announced Julia’s arrival. “Honestly, Nessie, show some respect. Wonderful to see you again, Agent Trevor,” she added with a hand extended toward him.
“And good to see everyone as well,” Steve answered, returning her handshake. “I think we might want to get out of here before the excitement gets too high,” he added, with a small smile in Vanessa’s direction.
“Oh what, am I getting left out of something cool again?” Vanessa pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Her expression cleared at Diana’s soft, sympathetic hand lying on her shoulder.
“I can’t know what we’re about to face, or how far we’ll be going, or when we’ll return,” Diana explained softly. “You need to stay with Donna.”
Vanessa sighed dramatically and started back up the stairs. “Fine. But if Ari starts liking me while you’re off chasing whatever, you don’t get to complain.” She stalked back up to her room.
Donna laughed softly when they heard Vanessa’s door slam. “Don’t worry. She needs two pairs of eyes out for her, I don’t really mind staying.”
“What did we ever do without you?” Julia asked Donna with a slow shake of her head. “I’ll be in touch as best I can, and with a bit of luck we’ll find your chariot and bring you back home.”
“With a bit of luck,” Diana echoed, “and we’ll stop the darkness from falling on us all.”
*****
“Think you can fire me and get away easy!?” The knife shone in the man’s hand as he stumbled through the office hall, knocking chairs and desks to the side. Edward Beaudry had been a mediocre worker at best, and when the company had to cut down its workers, it had been an easy choice to take away his job. But the rational answers did little to calm the man who had made the decision, as Beaudry lunged toward him, pinning his terrified ex-boss, Simon Smith, to the wall.
“Ed, come on, calm down,” he pleaded, holding out his hands in surrender. “I already called security, you’re gonna gain nothing by doing this.”
“Bastards think you can just get rid of me!?” Beaudry’s words were slurring, his knife cutting through Smith’s jacket and into the wall behind him, just missing the skin. “I oughtta get rid of you!”
Smith narrowly avoided another frantic stab. “What the hell’s gotten into you? Ed, listen to me, calm down, just calm—“
The third blow hit straight into Smith’s chest, Beaudry’s hand pinning it in place. The only sound now was Beaudry’s labored breath, and his wince as the blade sliced his finger on the way out. He let the other man fall heavily to the floor, shaking the blood off of his hand before shuffling away, exhausted and disoriented.
The door swung closed and the goddess smiled, her satisfied grin materializing first, before the rest of her form appeared next to the dead man. Dark hair framed her soft, enticing features, a long black robe curling around her swaying hips as she stepped closer to the body.
Eris had expected more from Smith, but the plan was still well enough in place. Her power was to spread chaos in the world, to fill the hearts of men with fear and primal instinct. Usually, this would have made Smith fight back, but he had proved a weakling in the end. It didn’t matter. Beaudry would be dead soon enough.
She pulled a small glass bottle out of her robe and leaned down, letting Smith’s blood trickle into her possession. When she had enough, Eris stood again, and glided across the floor after Beaudry. Smith’s death was certainly a help to her, but Beaudry’s would truly allow her to put her plans in motion.. When he was gone, she could make her way to Wonder Woman. All of the Amazons were under the care of Harmonia, Eris’ most hated elder sister; if they were returning to Man’s World at long last, then so would she.
*****
Steve’s plane soared above the Italian coast, its shadow taking the sparkle out of the water where it fell. Steve Trevor himself was in the cabin of the plane, having entrusted the flying to a friend after giving him the full rundown of repercussions should anything happen to it. He and Diana were preparing to jump down onto the island below them, though Wonder Woman’s brow was furrowed under her tiara as she looked down.
“It just doesn’t feel right,” she said to herself, pressing her forehead to the window for a better look. “We’re close…I can tell that we’re very close, but it isn’t Sicily.”
Adjusting the parachute pack on his back, Steve threw her a smile. “If you say so, I believe you. We’ve got enough fuel to hover a little while, until…” he trailed off with a shake of his head when his cell phone rang. “Speak of the devil. Got anything interesting for us, Professor?” he asked into the speaker.
“Very interesting, yes. Or at least I think so,” Julia’s voice replied, and Steve motioned for Diana to stand next to him as he turned the speaker phone on. “I love Miskatonic U. Most of the more recent publications do refer to Sicily, but I’ve found a very rare volume all about mythic places. According to this, our Thrinacia is meant to be somewhere in that part of the Mediterranean, but hidden in a protective triangle. Does any of that make sense from where you are?”
Diana raced back to the window at the mention of the shape, and gasped in delight. “It does!”
“Does to her anyway,” Steve clarified into the phone. “I don’t think I see it.”
“Well, you might not.” The sound of rapidly-turning pages came through the speaker. “It’s supposed to be magic—mystic energy aimed at keeping mere mortals away from the island. There’s a confusing passage about who should be able to even recognize the island—gods, of course, and some of their children, depending on how powerful. Something about a Child of Earth.”
The little smile on Diana’s face told Steve that, as he should have expected, she knew much more about what was going on than he did. “Of course…down there!” She pointed just off of the coast of the large island, to a body of water tucked between three smaller points of land.
Steve stepped up behind her, peering out at the water. “Still don’t think I see anything.”
“But it’s there!” Diana turned to him, beaming. “We’ve found it, at least I’ve found it, and I know what to do now.” She called instructions to the cockpit, and the plane wound its way over the water, as Wonder Woman arranged her own parachute.
“You’re sure enough about this to jump down all on your own, into what looks by all rights to be empty water God knows how deep, from God knows how high?” When Diana nodded, Steve broke into a smile. “Good enough for me.”
She returned his grin, and only a moment later they were falling, cutting through the air on their way down to earth. Diana’s eyes closed for a long moment, giving herself the luxury of feeling the wind rip through her hair and over her skin, the sunlight warm and bright though starting to fade. When she opened her eyes again, and when she thought she heard Steve’s gasp over the roar, she couldn’t suppress the smug smile.
Thrinacia lay gently glimmering in the space between the three islands Diana had pointed out in the plane, developing like a photograph as the pair fell closer to the land. It was not a large island, but it was dense and heavy with something mystical. Diana reached her hands instinctively toward the powerful ground, before both she and Steve opened their parachutes. As they drifted downward even closer, they could see the less-beautiful aspects of the island; dry, brown grass where the soil still held it, trees that had died long ago, and not the cry of any animal to break the heavy silence. The sound of their landing echoed over the plain, before fading into the landscape and leaving them alone.
“Not exactly what I was expecting,” Steve remarked, disengaging himself from the parachute.
“No…but absolutely our destination,” replied Diana, and she started to walk. “There should be a cave…all the tales mention a cave. With a bit of luck, we’ll be able to find it soon.”
Whatever reply Steve had on his lips was cut off by a brilliant flash of light, the arrival of two beautiful women, and the echoing, overwhelming, demanding words,
“Who dares enter Helios’ lands?” Steve shrunk back, but Diana held her head high and stepped toward the women. Both of them were glowing, enveloped in an aura of sun-warm light. They wore thin gowns made of gleaming cloth, one gold and one silver, each matching the long braids of their hair. They stood side-to-side, protecting each other as they glared at the intruders.
Diana knew them within a moment, and lowered her head in a respectful bow. “You are the guardians of Thrinacia. I bring you the greetings of the Amazons.”
The woman in gold looked down at the back of her head with a frown.
“I am Lampetia. My sister is Phaethusa. Our father is Helios, the Sun himself. You will leave our lands before any more harm comes to them.” “I come on behalf of my sisters,” Diana stood steady, bringing her head back up. “Our Oracle has been granted a vision, and that is what brought me to you. We believe there is great danger coming, and we believe that your father’s chariot will be the key to our victory. I have come to find the power of the Sun, to bring its light and strength to the world that needs it.”
“You have come to trespass and destroy what’s left of our glory,” Phaethusa spat, her silver hair fallen over her eyes.
“We are never again to allow intruders on this island. Anger us further and you will face our power.” Crossing the couple steps to her side, Steve muttered to Diana, “I take it we’re still not going to want to leave?”
“You take it correctly,” Diana answered him with her strong voice, and she raised her arms, crossing her bracelets into a shield.
The sisters recognized her challenge, and no time was wasted. With a cry of anger, Lampetia drew a powerful circle in the air with one finger, collecting the golden sunlight into a fiery ball. Diana kept her stance strong as the blast shot from the goddess’ hand. Instead of hitting the Amazon, the ball of sunlight glanced off her silver bracelets and rebounded, striking a nearby tree and making it shake and smoke.
“There is no need for us to fight,” Diana tried again, taking the moment to remove her lasso from her belt, its glow pale in comparison to the sisters. “I would not lead other to Thrinacia. I could not.”
“We have been betrayed before,” Phaethusa said coldly, bringing her own power to her fingertips.
“We know the nature of man, the nature of all humans. To destroy, to conquer, to claim whatever they do not have!” Diana braced herself, but the silver ray of light slammed into Steve instead.
Diana abandoned her shield long enough to run to him. “Are you alright?”
“I can’t see,” Steve told her, perfectly calm considering the circumstances. “You go on, you fight!”
“No one must ever bear witness to our island!” Lampetia declared, both goddesses stepping closer to Diana, giving her less room to fight.
“No one should even be able to. You must have great dark magic to break through our veil.” Diana stood, keeping Steve behind her, her clear eyes empty of malice. “I am of the Earth,” She tried once again to explain, and to calm them. “I was born of the clay of Mother Gaea’s Lazarus pits. That is why I can see. I would never bring those untrustworthy to these sacred shores.”
“You mock us, Amazon!” Another bright blast shot from Lampetia’s hands, forcing Diana to roll along the ground to avoid it.
“We should not be reduced to fighting off men. Our glory must be kept sacred.” “Glory?” Diana stood again, strong and unafraid. “What glory do you have? What glory is there in protecting a dead island from no one?”
“Our island is dead because of the intrusions of the world,” Phaethusa insisted, gathering another blinding burst of light.
“We were forced to hide, forced into exile, and our father’s grace is all we have left!”“What grace?” Diana pleaded, her voice so full of sympathy that Phaethusa paused in her attack. “The world no longer remembers Thrinacia. Those who know the name will never know where it is, so they create stories of other islands, ones that they can see. Don’t you understand?” She gestured all around her, to the brown grass, the dead trees. “They have your care, but nothing else. There is not sun enough to nurture this island.”
“You speak of things you will never know,” Lampetia strode forward, but her sister’s arm stopped her progress.
“She is…right,” Phaethusa said quietly, gazing to the side where the sun was setting, a brilliant ruby glow across the water as twilight seeped into the sky.
“Sister…our father is so far away.” “Our father has always been far.” The two sisters stood side-by-side, both of them shining in the waning sunlight, their gold and silver glows mingling.
“We have always been isolated, we have always meant to be alone.”“Then who remembers us?” There was pain in Phaethusa’s eyes, and her sister had no answer to the question.
Diana stepped forward again. “I will remember you,” she told them both, putting away her weapon. “And I will bring your glory back to the outside world. My sisters will sing of you for the ages.”
Around them, the island began to change. The wind whispered with the secret, ancient power as it drained away, the protective magic lifting as both goddesses turned to Diana again. Lampetia would not speak, but her silver sister gave a weary smile.
“You speak true, Amazon,” she said, her voice beginning to echo, as the wind whisked through her feet, the solid form dissolving into insubstantial light before Diana’s eyes.
“We thank you…and wish you luck on your quest.” “Many dangers will await you,” Lampetia nodded, as she, too, started to vanish.
“You will need Helios’ power…if you prove your worth, it will be yours.”Diana felt a bittersweet pang in her heart at the content expressions on their faces, as she watched their bodies dissipate, the last rays of sunlight slipping under the water and taking them along. “I will not rest until I do,” she declared, and then they were gone, two flames extinguished in an instant.
She ran to Steve’s side now, and he shook out his head, grinning. “That was some wonderful sweet-talking.”
“It’s true. And I’ll keep that word.” Diana passed a hand in front of his eyes.
Steve reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I figured they had to be gone. Lucky me it isn’t sticky magic.” He held his other hand up at Diana’s puzzled look. “I just mean it didn’t stick around when she ran off.”
“Well, our good luck,” Diana smiled at him, and took her hand back. “We need to keep exploring. Somewhere close, we’ll find what we need.”
*****
It hadn’t been hard to track him down. The hardest thing was finding the time to get to the prison, and convince the staff to ignore his presence inside. It had taken a single hit’s worth of ‘convincing’ before they left him alone.
He planned his assault so carefully. The man called Mourn took pride in his abilities. He found the cell where Red Panzer waited for punishment. He had assembled the uniform and weapons to make his way around with no more suspicion, and to do his job quickly, though he would still relish it.
The plan was perfect: soundless, efficient, and clean. Or it would have been, if he had not been too late.
This was Panzer’s cell, but Streiger was nowhere to be found. Mourn searched all through the small concrete room, as if convinced that his prey were hiding, and could still be found.
It was the armor that had him so convinced that Panzer must be nearby. Perhaps only out of his cell for the day, passing what remained of his life with small amusements. But soon enough in his searching, he found the notice—a simple bit of paper informing the real guards that the cell was meant to be empty.
“Why?” The word slipped from Mourn’s mouth, usually so carefully-controlled. He could understand that Panzer had gone. The notice mentioned a transfer, another prison that he would have to find. But why would he leave the armor? That was his power, his status, his worth. Why would Streiger leave it behind?
A moment’s thought drew Mourn to his conclusion. It didn’t matter why. He would still find Streiger, and he would find him weak. For now, he took the armor, and prepared to leave. He could bring this back to the Ryche, prove his own worth to his superiors. The armor was more important than the man.
But the man would still be found.
*****
After hours of searching, Steve and Diana finally found the cave. It was unmistakable. A brilliant golden glow spilled out of its mouth, into the night, and as they approached, Steve pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket.
Diana chuckled at his action, in high spirits with her goal so close. “I don’t think you’ll need those. Powerful magic it may be, but the Chariot is not meant to harm mortals.”
“Well, I don’t want to take any chances.” Steve grinned at her, as they both stepped inside.
The sight was remarkable, burning itself into their memories for the rest of their lives. At their approach, the golden stallions reared onto their hind legs, braying and stamping at the intruders. There were only two beasts, but they were magnificent—larger than any horses they had ever seen, and radiating the power of their position. Their manes were woven of pure gold, their coats brilliantly white, and their hoofs held the colors of the sunset. Behind the animals sat the chariot itself, enshrined between the walls of the cave. It could have been made fully of gold, but for the strength and power it held; Diana knew instantly that the metal held the glory of her gods, a sister to the metal in her bracelets.
Diana took another step forward, but the horses protested, one slamming a hoof down where her foot had been a moment before. She didn’t want to be afraid, but she still retreated. “The Chariot won’t move without their power…But it’s clear they don’t trust me.”
Steve’s hand landed on her arm, and Diana turned to see his warm, cocky smile. “You just trust me for a sec,” he told her, and walked up to the horses, slowly, holding his hands out in front of him.
She watched in astonishment as Steve made his way forward, speaking softly and calmly to the powerful creatures. They watched him with the fire in their eyes, and Steve looked right back into their faces.
“Just gotta make sure they know you respect them,” Steve said a bit louder for Diana to hear. “Good boys…just have to get them calm. Used to do this when I was a kid, training horses. Now I’ll keep them distracted,” he continued, and turned his head to look at her, “you get them hitched up.”
Her smile held a glow to rival the Chariot itself as Diana walked around Steve and the horses, taking care to keep her steps soft, and watching with pride as her friend was allowed to stroke the silky manes.
With nothing but reverence and care, Diana stepped up to the Chariot of the Sun, taking the driver’s place and finding the reins. She could feel them tingling over her fingers, as she took the ropes, catching Steve’s eyes and expertly tossing them toward him. This time the horses didn’t protest, though they turned to see the new woman standing in their master’s spot. Her back was straight, her hands firm on the reins as Steve finished tying them to the horses’ harnesses. Diana took a deep breath, and looked down at the creatures, with a radiant, regal smile. They took another long look at her, and lowered their heads in a synchronized bow.
Steve whistled low as he walked around the horses, giving them each a pat on the neck as he approached Diana and the chariot. “My God, as if it wasn’t already wonderful enough to be around you.”
Diana felt a warmth in her body that had nothing to do with the solar power she held, and stepped aside for Steve to stand beside her in the chariot. “It is magnificent, isn’t it?”
“As if it weren’t enough to know you,” Steve chuckled as he continued. “To get to see things like this? Things that no other guy is ever going to get to see? Yeah, ‘magnificent’ is a good word.”
“I am glad to know you too, Steven,” Diana returned his chuckle, and reached for his hand with a soft squeeze before she flicked the reins.
The steeds took off, a wild, primal energy that coursed though Diana’s body as she steered them out of the cave and across the sky, back toward home.
